As a formerly obese person, I can say that shame is a double-edge sword. It was (partly) due shame that I decided to get into better shape. I was not happy with who I was physically, and society made it clear that because I was fat, that meant I was unattractive and lazy - an outward projection of impotence and character flaws.

However, it was also shame that stopped me from actually getting off my ass and exercising for so long. Being ashamed of my body meant that I was afraid to be seen in public at length. A fat person in and of themselves can sometimes be considered a spectacle; but a fat person trying to exercise? ....someone bring the popcorn so we can all laugh at the fatass suffering! (Ever wonder why The Biggest Loser is such a successful show?) I was so ashamed of myself that I resorted to waiting until after dark or before dawn to go out and exercise.

This guy is full of shit. There's plenty of shame and stigma forced onto obese people already.

Educating people is probably the real step that needs to be taken. That would probably solve or help prevent the problem in the first place. Honestly I can't recall much discussion about it at all during schooling.

Bromoflexual saidAs a formerly obese person, I can say that shame is a double-edge sword. It was (partly) due shame that I decided to get into better shape. I was not happy with who I was physically, and society made it clear that because I was fat, that meant I was unattractive and lazy - an outward projection of impotence and character flaws.

However, it was also shame that stopped me from actually getting off my ass and exercising for so long. Being ashamed of my body meant that I was afraid to be seen in public at length. A fat person in and of themselves can sometimes be considered a spectacle; but a fat person trying to exercise? ....someone bring the popcorn so we can all laugh at the fatass suffering! (Ever wonder why The Biggest Loser is such a successful show?) I was so ashamed of myself that I resorted to waiting until after dark or before dawn to go out and exercise.

This guy is full of shit. There's plenty of shame and stigma forced onto obese people already.

Bromoflexual saidAs a formerly obese person, I can say that shame is a double-edge sword. It was (partly) due shame that I decided to get into better shape. I was not happy with who I was physically, and society made it clear that because I was fat, that meant I was unattractive and lazy - an outward projection of impotence and character flaws.

However, it was also shame that stopped me from actually getting off my ass and exercising for so long. Being ashamed of my body meant that I was afraid to be seen in public at length. A fat person in and of themselves can sometimes be considered a spectacle; but a fat person trying to exercise? ....someone bring the popcorn so we can all laugh at the fatass suffering! (Ever wonder why The Biggest Loser is such a successful show?) I was so ashamed of myself that I resorted to waiting until after dark or before dawn to go out and exercise.

This guy is full of shit. There's plenty of shame and stigma forced onto obese people already.

Bromoflexual saidAs a formerly obese person, I can say that shame is a double-edge sword. It was (partly) due shame that I decided to get into better shape. I was not happy with who I was physically, and society made it clear that because I was fat, that meant I was unattractive and lazy - an outward projection of impotence and character flaws.

However, it was also shame that stopped me from actually getting off my ass and exercising for so long. Being ashamed of my body meant that I was afraid to be seen in public at length. A fat person in and of themselves can sometimes be considered a spectacle; but a fat person trying to exercise? ....someone bring the popcorn so we can all laugh at the fatass suffering! (Ever wonder why The Biggest Loser is such a successful show?) I was so ashamed of myself that I resorted to waiting until after dark or before dawn to go out and exercise.

This guy is full of shit. There's plenty of shame and stigma forced onto obese people already.

I think you're right.

Fat asses often have low self esteem which is at the very base of why they let themselves go in the first place. Food is often their medication. Other times, it's just a really poor culture of too much, too often, too fried, too sweet, and no exercise.

Now, many in the gay community are scared to eat for fear for being called fat, and work out and complain about not making gains, while they starve. There's a happy spot.

In the end, we owe it to society / The Global Village to take care of ourselves, whether it's a walk to the local store, or 3 hour workouts, everyone HAS AN OBLIGATION to take care of themselves.

The movie "Food Inc." goes into how marketing is done, and how bad some processed food is. "Supersize Me" also show how terribly some folks eat.

For the the first time in modern times, mortality is decreasing, despite modern medicine. The current generation will NOT outlive its predecessors, and, that's a sad statement on modern culture.

We need public health care for beginners. Second, we need better nutrition education in schools, and to stop spending money on armed guards and perpetual wars. Third, we need to intervene more aggressively on that fat kid, before he becomes a fat adult.

The US military says that fully 3/4 of all young men are ineligible for military service.. A major portion of the number has such poor fitness, they can't pass the most basic fitness test. Another portion simply doesn't have a high school diploma or GED, and the rest have a criminal record resultant of "The War on Drugs."

Our public policy on this needs a solid review and we need to "Break The Taboo" on not just the worthless "War On Drugs" but how we implement health care.

Folks have a responsibility to themselves, and to The Global Village, to take care of themselves.

seafrontbloke saidMaybe industrial foodstuffs like HFCS are part of the problem.

Agreed. If chemicals and unnatural things weren't being sold as food, things everyone would be a lot healthier.

That's not true.

Folks who are overweight consume more calories than they expend.

If you want to gain weight, you eat more calories than you burn.

If you want to lose weight, you eat fewer calories than you burn.

Processed food often has too much sodium; too much fat. Fast food literally is a killer, but, not all chemicals in the food are bad. Preservatives keep our food safe, lower food waste, and lower costs, for example.